Chapter 10 - Social developments

Question 1

What were the usual work hours for men, women and children in the early 19th century?

Answer 1

Up to 16 hours a day, 6 days a week

Question 2

Apart from rapid economic growth, what did industrialisation bring to Britain?

Answer 2

Social turmoil and widespread unemployment

Question 3

What was the annual average increase in population in Britain in 1801?

Answer 3

1.1%

Question 4

What was the annual average increase in population in Britain in 1811?

Answer 4

1.43%

Question 5

What was the annual average increase in population in Britain in 1821?

Answer 5

1.81%

Question 6

What was the annual average increase in population in Britain in 1831?

Answer 6

1.58%

Question 7

What was the population of Liverpool in 1801?

Answer 7

82000

Question 8

What was the population of Manchester in 1801?

Answer 8

75000

Question 9

What was the population of Glasgow in 1801?

Answer 9

77000

Question 10

What was the population of Liverpool in 1831?

Answer 10

202000

Question 11

What was the population of Manchester in 1831?

Answer 11

182000

Question 12

What was the population of Glasgow in 1831?

Answer 12

202000

Question 13

What cities had populations greater than 100,000 in 1801?

Answer 13

London and Dublin

Question 14

What cities had populations of greater than 100,000 in 1831?

Answer 14

Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds

Question 15

What industry did Liverpool rely on in the early 1800s?

Answer 15

Commercial traffic through its docks

Question 16

What industries did Manchester rely on in the early 1800s?

Answer 16

Textile mills and factories

Question 17

What industries did Glasgow rely on in the early 1800s?

Answer 17

Textiles, shipping and engineering

Question 18

What rural area did jobless unskilled labourers move to Glasgow from?

Answer 18

Scottish Highlands

Question 19

What rural area did jobless unskilled labourers move to Liverpool from?

Answer 19

Lancashire

Question 20

What rural area did jobless unskilled labourers move to Manchester from?

Answer 20

Cheshire

Question 21

What contributed to the growth in population in Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow during the period 1801-31?

Answer 21

Jobless unskilled workers moving from the surrounding areas, and poverty-stricken landless labourers moving from Ireland

Question 22

Where did the vast majority of people live in cities in the early 1800s?

Answer 22

Overcrowded, cramped tenement buildings

Question 23

Where did the rich upper classes live in cities in the early 1800s?

Answer 23

Large houses in leafy suburbs

Question 24

Where did the middle classes, such as trades and crafts people, live in cities in the early 19th century?

Answer 24

Neat terraced houses not too far from the city centre

Question 25

What are some examples of poor living conditions for poor people living in cities in the early 19th century?

Answer 25

Entire families living in one room, few basic facilities, limited water supply, poor sanitation

Question 26

What did poor living conditions in urban areas in the early 19th century cause?

Answer 26

Numerous health problems and the spread of communicable disease

Question 27

What effect did an absence of local government have in the cities of the early 19th century?

Answer 27

Continuation or worsening of social problems

Question 28

Why was local government poor in the early 19th century?

Answer 28

Many old boroughs had grown into large towns but were still run by a mayor or corporation; these were corrupt, largely acted in self-interest, and did little to introduce any improvements such as in lighting or transport. They would sometimes commission useless (to the poor) grand building in city centres

Question 29

Why was much of factory work in the early 1800s done by women and children?

Answer 29

They were easier to manage and cheaper to pay

Question 30

Was child employment solely a feature of the industrial age?

Answer 30

No- it had existed for centuries, but was merely spotlighted by the factory system

Question 31

Why were factories so unsafe in the early 19th century?

Answer 31

Poor ventilation, absence of safety regulations, long hours, much of work done by children (including clearing jams in working machines)

Question 32

Which group of workers were worst exploited in the early 19th century?

Answer 32

Orphan children

Question 33

Why was education considered socially dangerous among many of the upper and middle classes?

Answer 33

It was thought to encourage revolutionary thinking

Question 34

Was education common among the lower classes in the early 19th century?

Answer 34

No, there was no state provision for children’s schooling

Question 35

What was the purpose of Sunday schools in the early 19th century?

Answer 35

To remove the worst ignorance and teach children about scriptures, but nothing else in order to keep them in their place

Question 36

What were the prospects of those unable to work in the early 19th century?

Answer 36

Grim- poor relief was entirely unable to cope with urbanisation, the flood of unemployed farm labourers into towns and unemployment among workers who had lost their jobs to machines

Question 37

What were the unemployed forced to do in the early 19th century?

Answer 37

Beg on the streets or turn to crime

Question 38

What was the total number of British emigrants in 1816?

Answer 38

13,000

Question 39

What was the total number of British emigrants in 1819?

Answer 39

35,000

Question 40

What was the total number of British emigrants in 1830?

Answer 40

55,000

Question 41

What was the total number of British emigrants in 1832?

Answer 41

103,000

Question 42

How many Scots emigrated in 1832 and to where mainly?

Answer 42

Almost 10,000, mostly to Canada

Question 43

What contributed to a rise in emigration in the post-Napoleonic war years and what did it contribute to?

Answer 43

Rise in population, emigration stimulated growth of the British Empire

Question 44

What were some positive impacts of industrialisation?

Answer 44

Greater wealth created, a larger population sustained, new middle classes prospered, trade unions grew, standard of living rose for some, and possibly for nearly all

Question 45

What happened to the real wage from 1815-50 and why?

Answer 45

It almost doubled, although this was likely more down to falling prices than rising wages

Question 46

What are some arguments for a better standard of living in the early 19th century?

Answer 46

Increased real wage, middle classes developing

Question 47

What are some arguments for a worse standard of living in the early 19th century?

Answer 47

Move from countryside to towns may have affected quality of peoples’ lives, real wages rising more for non-manual workers than unskilled labourers, more complicated class system

Question 48

Why was the class system becoming more complicated in the early 19th century?

Answer 48

Widening divisions within the working class itself, such as growth of large underclass, the labouring poor, who couldn’t drag themselves out of poverty

Question 49

What largely caused working-class discontent in the early 19th century?

Answer 49

Demoralising effects of the agricultural revolution and the continuing process of industrialisation

Question 50

What was an effect of enclosure on the poorest rural inhabitants?

Answer 50

Destroyed the livelihood of many small farmers and created class of landless labourers, who had to rely on poor relief or go to a town and get a factory job

Question 51

What caused resentment among the urban working class in the early 19th century?

Answer 51

Harsher and more disciplined system of factory work, gruelling conditions, unsatisfactory living conditions

Question 52

What was different with the relationship between the urban classes to that which had existed between the rural classes?

Answer 52

Wealthier urban families tended to segregate themselves from the poor, whereas in rural areas there was personal communication between the village squire and even the lowliest of workers

Question 53

Why was working-class discontent of the early 19th century closely linked to the state of the economy?

Answer 53

During an economic slump trade and industry declined, employers cut back on production and either laid off employees or cut their wages; this was made worse by periodic bad harvests, which caused rises in the price of bread, thus combining hunger and unemployment

Question 54

How did rural employers employ poor relief based on the Speenhamland system?

Answer 54

They lowered wages to the level at which an agricultural labourer could qualify for poor relief